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Belisario, Furcal could return on Tuesday

Belisario, Furcal could return on Tuesday

LOS ANGELES -- There's a chance the Dodgers get both Ronald Belisario back along with Rafael Furcal on Tuesday. It's possible, even, that there's a better chance Belisario is ready before Furcal is.

Furcal played catch at Dodger Stadium on Friday afternoon. He hasn't seen game action since Monday because of a lower back strain.

Belisario, on the restricted list since July 7, is slated to make two rehab appearances for Class A Inland Empire on Saturday and Sunday. That could be the last preparation the Dodgers feel Belisario needs after he began working out at Dodger Stadium on July 26.

"He's good right now," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said of Belisario. "He's got a really good look about him and has got a really good frame of mind, all that stuff."

A holdup for Furcal could come if he isn't able to test out his back in the necessary situations over the next couple days. He did not take ground balls or swing on the field during batting practice on Friday.

"I'm hopeful he'll be ready for Tuesday," team trainer Stan Conte said. "We still have more baseball stuff to do, we only have two days to do it and I don't want to rush it and put him at any risk."

Physically, the Dodgers feel Belisario should be fine with a pair of one-inning appearances and then rest on Monday's off-day. Belisario threw 25 pitches off the Dodger Stadium mound on Thursday in front of reporters.

What could end up delaying Belisario is something related to the team-described personal matter, reportedly substance abuse, that landed him on the restricted list.

Belisario needs to receive approval from or be cleared by some entity to return -- be it Major League Baseball or otherwise. But what that entity is, Torre claims general manager Ned Colletti only knows, and Colletti has not said.